America Explained: Tipping & Why Waiters Hate Foreigners

www.woltersworld.comTraveling in the US is different than many other places around the world when it comes to eating. It may be the food or the atmosphere, but the largest difference is the fact that you have to tip when eat out at a sit-down restaurant (not fast food). Non-Americans tend to tip less than they should and this video is here to help explain the tipping culture in America. At restaurants it is 15% minimum and 20% or more if the service is really good. If you do not tip, do notn expect to get fast friendly service at the bar either.Filmed in Quincy, Illinois, USA

Comments

I think it’s digusting that the resturant don’t pay the workers more money,
i see tipping as a voluntary choice if you recieve a really good service
from the server, if not, i’m only paying for the food that i ordered in the
first place.﻿

So in New York the restaurant owner demands YOU subsidize their employees
and make up for the shortfall in wages they should be paying. So the
customer who keeps the restaurant in business by going there is held
hostage for an additional charge over and above the cost of the meal and
drinks and applicable taxes. That’s a good deal for the business owner and
he/she probably scoops a percentage of the tips as well no doubt. I think
they lost the plot here. Customers are supposed to be valued sinse without
them there is no business.
﻿

As I understand it.. waiters in USA get a lower min wage because it is
estimated that combined with their tips, they can make at least national
minimum wage. If their tips + wage fails to equal nat min wage then their
employer has to increase their pay to ensure they do get nat min wage.
Correct me if I’m wrong.﻿

So if you don’t pay extra, you get shitty service? That pushes customers
away. Don’t they get fired for behaviour like that? Isn’t being nice part
of your job description if you’re in customer service? Also, haven’t they
taken into account that foreigners don’t tip in areas with lots of foreign
tourists?

Also, aren’t there any laws that look out for the waitstaff’s interests?
Why don’t they get minimum wage in the first place?
Maybe if people stopped tipping, waiters would go work elsewhere until
employers started paying proper wage. Why would you want to support a
shitty system like this? Tipping is supposed to be extra for the waiter and
not their actual pay.﻿

you neglected to inform the Foreigners that the waiters must tip out the
support like bussers, runners and bartenders .. When you get a 10% gratuity
… the waiter actually ends up paying for the guests eating out of his own
pocket !! ﻿

Funny isn’t it.
Everyone in the whole world hates American waiters.
That is a much bigger figure of population, so, the law in the USA ought to
change to something more civilized.
How embarrassing that the USA has such a bad system for food servers etc.

This isn’t an equal exchange between employee and customer, it’s a bullshit
employer making millions as a chain, deciding they’re going to pit their
employees against the customers by paying them jack shit because they can.
So instead of going after corporations and private companies that are doing
this to the workers, the customers who are already paying this
restaurant/bar for services are expected to just automatically add 15% onto
the price of their outing.

This is why I don’t eat out, and this is why I don’t visit America. Good
service earns tips, you don’t pay for someone to give you decent service.﻿

it is not a customers responsibility to ensure the waiter/waitress is well
paid, it is the establishments. The establishment needs to take care of
their staff just as anything else involved with the business i.e food,
furniture, cleanliness, etc. Times have changed this age old debate is
ridiculous and using their poor wages as an excuse to pay them for doing an
okay job is ridiculous especially job when complications are usually and
issue with tips i.e who get what and how much. ﻿

It’s been a while since I was in England, but let’s break this logic down a
little for all you “Why should I pay an employee’s wage” guys.

What’s a reasonable price on a meal in a London pub (excluding alcohol)?
Maybe eight pounds? Ten pounds? A little more perhaps. But even if it’s
eight, consider the exchange rate. Generally, this hovers around 1.6. Right
now, it’s 1.61. So an 8 pound meal at a pub translates into 12.86
dollars. A comparable meal in the US will probably run you the same number
in dollars, so for an 8 pound plate of fish and chips, or a sandwich, what
have you, you’d probably spend 8-9 dollars at a casual sit-down
restaurant. Even if the bill were 10 dollars, a 20% tip would only run you
2 bucks. You’re still getting out ahead, and you can eat at a lot of
places for 10 bucks. How many places can you eat out for 8 pounds? Maybe
I just didn’t know where to go, but I remember a few casual sit-down
restaurant meals running 18-20 pounds routinely. That’s over 30 dollars to
me, and I can usually feed two people for that, or myself and a good bit of
booze.

Even if you have issues with the restaurant not paying as much as you would
expect, don’t be a dick and take it out on the waitstaff. And if it really
bothers you that much, go to a fast food restaurant where the workers are
paid a minimum wage and tipping is not part of the culture. Your refusing
to tip on a restaurant bill isn’t going to change anything except make your
waiter’s pockets a little lighter.﻿

Why don’t restaurants just pay their employees an acceptable salary? The
U.S. system is a mess where you have to tip people to keep them from
spitting on you. In Japan you get great service the the notion of tipping
doesn’t exist. It would almost be an insult (i.e., treating the person like
a beggar) to try to tip them. They would freak out and be afraid to take
it. All you food service people just keep yapping about it. Do you know how
many times I’ve chosen to not eat out just because I’m disgusted with this
stupid system? A lot!﻿

I’ve a tip for the Americans. Just pay your staff enough wages so they can
live a decent life and just add their wages to your menu prices. This way
we all know what the real costs(prices) are for a meal with some service
and we don’t need to fool each other.
By the way, now you are going to follow my advise, please also add the
taxes to your menu prices. This way we get the all-in prices. Just like in
other countries, the normal way!﻿

You are saying that, foreigners should not wonder why they are getting
crappy service, it is because the waiters don’t expect them to leave a tip?
That logic doesn’t add up. I am from Finland and i always leave a tip in
the states (min 20 %), but if the service is really bad, i will not leave a
good tip, or no tip at all (then the service needs to be very bad and i
will be asking to talk to the manager).. So if you are saying that the
service is going to bad for foreigners, how can yo expect them to leave a
good tip or any tip at all? Just no logic there. Cultural difference is
huge and some people rally do not know that they HAVE TO tip. While you
have your other forms and idiotic questions asked before arriving to the
country, you should have this read on the papers as well and make people
aware of this! You have to do something about your crappy system with
paying your employees. If you have no customers in the restaurant, you will
not be getting paid since there will be no tips. That just makes no sense.
Here, the employer will suffer, when having no customers. You will always
get paid (min hourly paid is 15-16 $). Sundays are paid double + holidays
etc. So a waitress working a 36-40h week, will be making around 2800-3000 $
per month before taxes + tips (which here is not that much, but it is still
some extra cash). This was counted with the absolute minimum wage and
including 4 sundays (they are double paid). SO, make your employers and the
government pay you what you deserve. IT should not be your responsibility
to suffer, if the restaurant isn’t doing good, and it should not be on the
customers responsibility to pay your salary, after all, the customer is not
who hired you. But don’t worry, i will tip in the states every time i
visit!﻿

The tipping system makes sense and it keeps a limit on the amount of people
who want the job. If the wage for a waiter was minimum wage, I’d probably
survive off being a waiter for the next couple of years just because it’s
so easy and can be real enjoyable at times when you have awesome people
you’re serving.So it essentially highly encourages a waiter to be friendly
and provide a good customer experience. Overall, the tipping system makes
sense and it very fair.﻿

Don’t get me wrong…. tipping is a nice gesture. However, the EXPECTATION
of being tipped is what gets me.
As you rightly say, they make a negligible amount from their official pay..
and this is why I think is the problem. Why don’t restaurants incorporate
the 15-20% of tip into their prices, so you get a bill with the tip already
charged (but is hidden within the price of the meal for example). This will
save everyone the hassle and the awkwardness.
Also, aren’t the waiters ’employees?’ surely the onus is on their employers
to pay their wages and not the customers. As a sidenote, doesn’t this mean
that the bulk of waiters’ wages (earned through tipping) isn’t accounted
for tax purposes?